So that's where Halloween a.k.a “All Hallow's Eve” comes from. It's called “ליל כל הקדושים” in Hebrew (”Leyl Kol Hakdoshim” - “the night of all the saints”, or “the night of all the holy people”).

A Russian hacker I talked to on IRC (who now lives in Moscow) claimed that after the Glasnost, they started celebrating All Hollow's Eve in a similar way to the well-known American way. Back in the Soviet reign, celebrating Christian festivals was a big no-no, so the Russians may have completely forgot how to do this properly.

I'm a Jewish Atheist who doesn't normally go to the synagogue, but tend to remember (or at least be reminded about) Jewish holidays. Israelis have feasts on Passover and Rosh-Hashana and Shavu'oth, and other such holidays. An Jewish American FOSS developer I have worked with who is slightly traditional claimed that on Rosh Hashana they just go to the synagogue and pray. But I talked with a different Jewish American who is religious, and he told me that the Holiday Feast was an integral part of every Jewish occasion.

Does anyone know if Jewish prayers are a custom or an order (מצווה) from the Torah?

(http://livejournal.com/users/shlomif)